Lubricator-terminal check valve



Feb. 21, 1928. l 1,659,916

v E. L. HOWELL LUBRIGATOR TERMINAL CHECK VALVE Filed Jan. 11, 1927 Ernes" L o wel] 4 Hats tarn @ys Patented Feb. 21, 1928.

UNITED STATES q 1,659,916 PATENT OFFICE.

IEJIIRIH.S'l-y L. HOWELL, 0F LAS VEGAS, NVADA.

LUBmcAToR-r-ERMINA-L efr-Eck VALVE. i

appncation med January 11,1927. serial ne. 160,505.

This invention relates to terminal checkvalves for lubricating the cylinders andpistons of steam locomotives, and an object thereof is to provide a simple means which, in additionto being economical ,ink the use Vof lubricant, will also bev eiective in posi-V both pistons 'must move substantially in the saine time; and if, for any'reason', one of the cylinders becomes hot and causes a piston to stick or move, in retarded, time,

then the machine will be twisted,` or broken.; y and if broken7 there is the `liability of awreck common to railroads. The importancev of proper lubrication of locomotive cylin`- ders and slide valves cannot be too'greatly emphasized.

Various means tofore for lubricating slide valves and cylinders, but they are defective for, the reason that the gummy substance of the lubricant has clogged the passages `which heretofore have been blocked by fine mesh screensand tortuous turnsgand an object of this inven-y tion is to provide a simple means-for lubricating the slide valves and cylinder of locomotives `without danger of the passagesy becoming clogged; and tothat end Ik provide an appliance with relatively straight. passages that are not blocked by screens or other` like impediments.

Another object ofthe invention is to 'provide a terminal check valve for locomotive engines that can be easily testedv to determine that it is operative.

Another object of the invention is to-provide a lubricating appliance for locomotives that'has its fuel passages axially alignedand connected by by-passes only slightly out of axial alignment so that abrupt tortuous passages that are liable toV accumula-te guinmy'residue ofthe lubricant are avoided.

Another object is to provide a terminal check vvalve for'locomotives comprising four partsthat areA of a substantial character and axially aligned, and not liableto be'-y coine defective on account offdelicacy of con-y struction.

Features of invention areshown in the constructionand operation ofthe' valve and have been employed here.

means for byepassing the lubricant around it. t Other objects, advantages and features of inventionniay' appear from the accompanying drawings, the detailed` description and the appended claims. l l Y The accompanying drawings illustrate ther appliance, in which :v

Figure l. is ay fragmentary sectional plan view of a locomotive engine Saddle with lubricating appliances connected thereto and alsov showing 'diagrammatically aV lubri'cator pump and pipe connections to the appliances', the engine being omitted for the sake of uclearness inthe drawings'.

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section through'L the appliance attached to a frag'.-

ymental portion of a cylinder in whichv a portion-k of ak piston is shown.

, 3 isasectional view analogous to Fig. 2 with. the valve casing` moved endwise from the housingto release the spring and looseny the valve so that residue. of oil can be blown out of the appliance.V n p g Fig. 4 is an'enlarged end view of the valve' casingv showing; the valve seat, the guides for the valve, and the by-pass passages around the valve seat.- v.

Fig.- 5N is a fragmental' section on line 5 5 o-f`Fig.4, withlparts on a reduced scale showing the, guides engaging.y the valve; l Fig. 6 isl anenlfarged crossvsection on line 6-6 of Fig. 3,. showing. the guides engaging p the valve and-by-passes around it.`

Fig. 7 is a viewf'of thevalveremoved from the casing". The. part-sshown in. Figs. 4, 6 and-7 are'about actual size. l

In Fig. 1- aplan view of a locomotive saddle 10 isV showny to which is secured cylinders 11' and 12 with slidevalve housings 13 and 14; and integralwiththe housings 13 and 14 arel stearnI pipes l5 and lwthat receive steam fromA the locomotive boiler in` the usual way. The cylinders 11 and 12 are provided with pistons'17--l8 of usual construction whiclr are connected by piston rods- 19V-20 to cross. heads not shown but which are wellunderstood-in the art. l

- As has been previously stated the piston rods 19-'20f arev driven by cranks onA the engine drive shafts andY they mustv move in exact time with one another; This also is true-'of the eccentric rods 21-22 thatV shift the slide valve inthe housings 13v and 14.' In other words -theslide' valves and pistons must move' in exact time with one another. The sticking: ofa. slide valve .orv cylinder .will

tail in the drawing is secured to each of the cylinders 11 and 12 and also one to each of the steamypipes 15 and 16 land these appliances are constructed and operated substantially alike. elongated partly threaded pipe connection 2efor'clamp'nuts 25 for'securing the dis-1 charge ends of copper feed pipes v26 there to. The copper pipes are'extended to "a i; lubricator 27 and have their other ends secured thereto by clampnuts 28 as semi# diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 1. The lubricator kpump 27v diagrammatically shown in Fig.' lis operated ina well known way to `drive lubricant through the valve -23 at a pressure in excess of the pressure'supplied tothe 'steam entering` the slidel valve housv ings and cylinders. VThe mechanism and operation of the lubricator areold and well understood, and for brevity arenot shown or described in detail.V

The pipe connection-24l is integral with a valve casing; 29 that-is provided with a threaded extension 30 adapted to be screwed :.'f into a socket 31 inI a spring housing 32.

This housing is provided with an elongated partly threaded extension '33that can be screwed into'bosses B4 on Cylinders11-12 and steam pipes 15-16. The valve casing 1.5: 29 has an' irregular bore that is formed by rst drilling four by-passes thatV are of equal diameter and spaced anequal distance apart and an equal distance from the longitudinalcenter of the casing, and then a drill of larger diameter is used to cut outy a portion of the 'center of the casing' 29 to form a center bore 36 of suficient size and depth for the valve'37; VThis bore 36 has a diameter that cuts through all of the centers of the ley-passes 35; and the borer36 is slightly larger than the check'valve 37 so that when 'itf'is'heated to a high temperature it will not' stick between the guides 38 that are incidentally formed by the drilling of by-passes 35 andV 36. The by-passes 35 are drilled toa greater depth in kthe casing 29 than the center bore 36 and at'rthe terminating point of the bore 36 the center portion of the casing is drilled into a raised concave valve seat 89; and avpassageway 40 is drilled centrally in the valve seat and longitudinally through the casing 29 through which the lubricant can pass. The

check valve 37 is provided Vwith' a concave point 41' that is an exact tit into the raised convexed valveseat 39 so that when it is seatedno fluid can 'pass therethrough. The purpose lof this valve Vis to choke the passage throughthe appliance sothat only a predetermined amount of lubricantA under- Each is provided `with 'an' or remove any unevenness inthe seat.-

ay pressure can pass therethrough. The

valve is provided with an elongated "stem 1 that extends outward a suicient distance 39. .ln other words', when the casing 29` is removed from the housing 32 an. operatorV can grasp the extending stem i2 with his lingers andl spin it around a number of times on the'seat- 39 so as to remove anyv foreign Asubstance that has adhered thereto The spring housing 32. is provided with a centerbore of three' varied diameters aligned thatl form the threaded socket 31, a spring seat 43,

tid

against one end of which a. spring fie is adapted to be seated andv a lubricant passage 41.6.` The' other end of the springllengages the shoulder i5 on the checkvalve 37 and tension is applied to the spring'by screwing the valve casing 29 into the ysocket 31 of thev housing 32.. The housing 82' as stated'is provided with a passage 46V that is.

axially laligned with the bore` 38V and passage v through which the lubricantcan be discharged into the steam pipes or cylin'l ders of alocomotive. The extensions 24 and 33 are provided with unthreaded portions which can bethreaded in the event the yappliance becomes worn and needs anew turn 0r two of the threads to make the Y parts secure against leakage. In other words, vassuming that the threaded portion of the parts 24 and'33 have become badly. worn so that they leak; rthen the parts 32 and 29 can be placed in a vise and additional threads added to the connections 2li and 33 to make them impervious to leale age. This'isan important-feature in the construction of thek appliance as heretofore` kno-provision hasbeen made for such an emergency construction.` v'In other words7 assuming that an engine is -far outf'from a repair shop and a lubricating appliancebe-y comesV defective through leakage, then the parts can be-taken apart and threaded further tol remedy the`l defect.

- Also in the construction vof the valve case i ing 29 .theby-passes 35 are 'drilled a con-V siderable distance below the valve seat 39,'so that as the valve seat is worn it can be drilled down wit-hout aifecting the bylpass.

Also considerable metal is lett between'the pipeY connection 24 and the bottom oi the be deepened to provide additional metalv for the valve seat.

In operation an appliance such asde-Y f scribed and shown'in detail in Figa-2 to k7' inclusive is; securedrto each of the cylinders off a locomotive'v and also toeach of they p steam pipes 15 and 16, asdiagrammatically indicated in Fig. 1. .The vcasing 29 is screwed 12o holes 35 so that if need be the holes 35 can y spring 4A so it will hold the checkl valve 37 seated to resist va' pressure in the passage il that is in 'excess of the steam pressure in the steam pipes and cylinders of the locomotive.

lll/'hen the parts are installed and the locomotive is in operation the lubricator p'um'p 27 'is actuated in a Well known 'way to force lubricant'through the pipes 26 into passages et() to unseat the check valve 37 and permit the lubricant to enter the by-passes 35 and pass through the springs ettand passages a6 into the steam pipes and cylinders of a locomotive to lubricate them.'

To cleanse and test the appliances aft-er they have been in operation, they are discon-` nected from the locomotive; and then the pipe connections 24 are attached to a blower apparatus with a steam pressure' 'suliicient to unseat the check valve 37 and clear out the passages.' If the steam from the blowers gasses freely through the appliances it can e safely reattached to the locomotive without disconnecting the casing 29 from the housing 32.

In the event the steam does not pass freely through the appliance the casing 29 can be slightly unscreWed from the housing 32 to release the pressure of the spring 44 on the choke valve 37, after which a discharge of steam therethrough will cleanse all foreign substance from` the passages, seat, valve and spring. In the event, however, that it is not thoroughly cleansed by the aforementioned means, the part-s can be easily disconnected, cleansed and reassembled. By'

this construction great time is saved in the installation as well as in the testingv and cleansing of these appliances, and they are positive in their action and free from parts that would unnecessarily accumulate the gummy residue of lubricant.

I claim as my invention l. A four-piece terminal check valve construction including a housing having a lubricant passage therethrough; a casing adapted to be attached end to end to said housing, said casing having a lubricant passage therethrough that is axially aligned with the passage through said housing; and means axially aligned with said housing and casing for choking and normally closing the passage through said casing.

2. A four-piece terminal check valve construction for lubricating the slide valves and cylinders of locomotives including a hous ing adapted to be attached to the locomotive; a casing adapted to be attached end to end to said housing, said casing and housing having longitudinal passages therethrough; a check valve in said casing that is adapted to be opened by fluid pressure to permit lubricant to pass by said check valve; and a spring for normally holding said check valve closed, said parts being arranged in axial alignment.

cylinders of locomotives, includinga housing adapted to be attached to a locomotive, said housing having a center bore of three varied dian'ieters forming ascrewsocket, a spring seat, anda small lubricantpassage; a'casing having a large vcenter longitudinal bore therein terminating in I ar small lubricant passagel Vaxially aligned with the bore 'through said housing; a valve seat at the terminal yend ot' the large bore of said casing;

3.' la four-ruecev terminal check valve conn struction for lubricating the slide valve and` a check valve' in the large bore of said casing that is adaptedto be moved longitudinally of thecasingby fluid pressure to open the small lubricant passage; means for by-passl small lubricant passage therethrough; a casing attached to said housing that has a large center bore therein that is axially aligned with a small lubricant passage therethrough, in said casing having by-passes that are spaced equi-distant apart and an equal distance fromthe center of said casing, and

are cut into by the large center bore, said by-passes extending longitudinally with the large bore of the casing and in communication therewith; a valve seat at the terminal i end of the large bore; a check valve in the large bore that is adapted to be opened by fluid pressure; and a spring for Vnormally Vholding said check valve in engagement with vsaid seat to close the lubricant passage.

5. A terminal check valve construction in- `cluding a housing having a threaded socket vand a spring seat therein and a lubricant passage therethrough axially aligned and of varied diameter; a casing adapted to be screwed into the socket of said housing, said casing having a center bore therein and a lubricant passage therethrough that are axially aligned with the passage through said housing; a valve seat at the terminal end of the center bore in said casing that has a convexed surface; a check valve in the center bore that has a concavev end adapted to fit into the convexed valve seat; a shoulder onvsaid choke valve; aspring having its ends 'i engaging the spring seat in said housing and the shoulder on said slide valve; and spaced by-passes parallel with and cut into bythe large center bore for by-passing lubricant around said check valve when it is forced into open position.

' 6. A terminal check valve construction including a housing having a threaded socket and a spring seat therein and a lubricant passage therethrough; a casing adapted to be screwed into the socket of said housing,

said casing having a vcenter bore therein and a lubricant passagetherethrough that are axially aligned with the passage through said housing; by-passes in said casing that areparalle-l to therenter bore and that eX-Y tend into the easing a :greater depth than the center bore thereof; a valve seat vhaving a convened surface at the terminal end of the Center bore; a eheekvalve having a concave end adapted to fit into said valve seat, said valve adapted to open by fluid pressure; a shoulder on said valve; and a spring having ends engaging-the springy seat in said housing and the shoulder on said valve so as to yieldingly choke the passage through said casing.

housing; an extension integrallwith said housingthat is partly threaded; a easing adliustably connected to said housingg-a VpipeV connection integral with saideasingthat 1s partly threaded, said extension and connec-v tion elongated so that additionalthreads can be added thereto When' necessary; axially aligned lubricant ypassages extending longitudinally through said connection, easing, housing; and extension; and yielding means Within said housingand easing or'ehoking the passage through said easing. 1 e

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto ailiXed my signature.V

- ERNEST L. HQVVELL.` 

